Patriots News 04-12, What To Watch For In The NFL Draft
Patriots Draft Outlook: Decoding WR Strategy, Roster Needs, and Hall of Fame Voting Issues
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Posted Under: 2026 Patriots Draft
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Good morning, and a happy Sunday to all. Here is your Patriots news for 04-12, along with this week’s NFL notes.
It is hard to believe the draft will start in just under 14 days in Pittsburgh. Shout out to Mel Kiper Jr., who took the time to give the Patriots Unfiltered crew a prospect breakdown of the Pawtriots Dog Adoption event, which will take place on Day 3 of the NFL Draft at Gillette Stadium.
“Their upside is through the WOOF!” Classic.
Another shoutout to the Patriots video content team, who are being nominated for a regional Emmy Award for the “Forged in Foxborough” series. Well deserved.
With the draft just around the corner, to those of you who don’t subscribe to The Athletic, you are missing out on Dane Brugler’s draft guide, named “The Beast.” It is the best out there, and I look forward to it every year. And it is aptly named; he has written 600 pages of draft profiles on 2,700 players, including 99 QBs. That kind of detail is unheard of, and it is just fantastic.
Patriots Host 26 Players For Local Pro Day-
The Patriots hosted 26 players at their local pro day on Tuesday, which is for prospects from New England colleges, mostly smaller schools. Most of the players in attendance are considered late-round draft picks or undrafted free agents.
Mike Reiss of ESPN said, “Boston College offensive lineman Logan Taylor was one of them, and this comes a couple of weeks after Patriots coach Mike Vrabel got an up-close look at him at BC’s pro day.” I had Taylor as a 7th-round pick to the Patriots in my last mock draft.
Dane Brugler, in his draft guide, had this to say about Taylor: “Overall, Taylor doesn’t play with consistent leverage or power, but he is intelligent, tough, and competitive as a short-area base blocker. Similar to Brandon Linder, he projects best as a blocker in a phone booth at guard and a potential emergency flex outside at tackle.”
The Patriots had a pretty solid start to free agency, but they need another really good draft this season. Last year’s draft hit it out of the park, and the team, as Mike Vrabel has said, was ahead of the rebuild in Year 1.
They have some holes to fill and depth issues in multiple spots. And hitting on the draft while picking at the bottom of the round is much different than picking from the top of the round.
This is a draft, where, if you’ve seen all the mock drafts this spring, the team could go in multiple directions position-wise in Round 1. They could also trade up or trade down. All of those are very real possibilities.
And if you are one of those people who doesn’t want to stay up until midnight to see them trade out of Round 1, you are not alone. But it is a real possibility.
With 11 picks in total, I’d really like to see them package some of them up and move up in Rounds 2 and 3. But probably the most fascinating question facing Eliot Wolf and Mike Vrabel is how they approach the wide receiver position in the draft.
We’ve heard all of the talk of the A.J. Brown trade to New England until we’re blue in the face. Most everyone is tired of hearing about it, but Wolf and Vrabel know there is no guarantee that it will happen, given the Patriots don’t want to match Philly’s demand for multiple picks, including a #1 pick.
Our good friend Miguel Benzan, who we all know as “Patscap,” or our resident salary cap guru, was a guest on our podcast on Thursday night and made the following point about Brown.
He said, the Patriots may hold out on giving Philly a first-round pick, but what happens if a team during the spring workouts has a WR suffer a catastrophic injury? That would conceivably change everything, and a team that isn’t even currently in the picture could entice Philly in a trade for a #1.
It is something the Patriots have undoubtedly discussed, and will probably continue to do so all week.
Shane Bowen: The Patriots are hiring former Giants defensive coordinator Bowen to Mike Vrabel’s staff as a defensive analyst. Bowen brings a high level of familiarity not only with Vrabel but also with several members of the defensive staff.
Bowen and Vrabel’s history goes back to 2012 at Ohio State, where the two coached together. He and Vrabel then moved on to Houston and to Tennessee, where Bowen was Vrabel’s defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023.
New Patriots DC Zak Kuhr considers Bowen a mentor. Terrell Williams was moved to assistant head coach after his health issues; safeties coach Scott Booker, cornerbacks coach Justin Hamilton, and defensive line coach Clint McMillan all worked with Bowen in Tennessee.
But it appears, at least outwardly, that Bowen’s tenure in New England will probably be a short one, something akin to Vrabel’s one-year stop in Cleveland before getting the Patriots’ head coaching gig.
With Kuhr just getting the title of defensive coordinator, he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Bowen got a solid from his good friend in Vrabel, and while he can lend invaluable assistance to Kuhr, he’ll probably be looking for another coordinator gig in 2027. But this was another good hire by Vrabel.
Marte Mapu Trade: Mike Reiss of ESPN reported that the Patriots had told LB Mapu of an impending release. However, at the last minute, the Patriots swung a trade with the Houston Texans for late-round picks.
Houston will receive Mapu and the Patriots’ 7th-round pick in 2027. The Patriots will get Houston’s 6th-round pick in the 2027 draft.
The Patriots originally drafted Mapu in the third round three years ago. He is a very athletic linebacker, but has never found a definitive role on defense. Under Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo, the team used him as more of a safety.
Last year, Vrabel had Mapu drop the safety/linebacker hybrid tag and worked him strictly as an athletic LB in subpackages. However, he still couldn’t find a role other than special teams and played only 9.5 percent of the defensive snaps.
Depth at Linebacker Is Now A Much Bigger Issue: The Patriots’ depth at linebacker was tested last year, but since the Super Bowl, they’ve parted ways with Jahlani Tavai (released), Jack Gibbens (free agent signing with Arizona), and now Mapu.
They currently have Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss, K.J. Britt, Chad Muma, Otis Reese, and Amari Gainer. They signed Britt in free agency, but he’s more of an STer than a linebacker. Expect to see the Patriots double-dip at LB between now and the start of training camp.
Patriots Hall of Fame Voting Issues: The Patriots announced that voting is now open for the 2026 Hall of Fame nominees.
The list includes tight end Rob Gronkowski, fullback Mosi Tatupu, wide receiver Wes Welker, guard Logan Mankins, defensive tackle Julius Adams, linebacker Dont’a Hightower, safety Lawyer Milloy, and kicker Adam Vinatieri.
The system of inducting only one person per year is flawed and needs to be changed. So, let’s call it what it is. Gronkowski is getting in, which is about as unsurprising as it comes. And yes, he’s deserving of being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well. He’s arguably the greatest tight end who has ever played.
But every year, the backlog of players from the dynasty era, coupled with very deserving players from the bygone era (yes, there was Patriots football before 2001), who deserve to be inducted before they pass on, unlike Adams, Tatupu, Francis, Fairbanks, and others.
And the discussion on this year’s nominees is head-scratching. I get the love for Gronkowski. But I’ve also heard and read, “Well, Vinatieri will get in…” That is total BS. Vinatieri will get his gold jacket later this year as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But he has to wait to get into the team’s HOF?
And while I love Julian Edelman, Welker caught more passes, for more yards, and more touchdowns in six seasons with New England than Edelman did in 11. But he has to wait, too?
That right there is why the system is broken and needs fixing.
Patriots No Huddle Podcast: Derek, Mike, and I conducted our latest NFL Draft podcast on our new platform right off the PatsFans.com website. You can always check out our podcasts on our YouTube channel.
We also recorded a special interview with Miguel Benzan on the team’s salary cap situation, what an extension of Christian Gonzalez would look like, and how the team must prepare for the inevitable Drake Maye extension.
Please check it out. And be sure to like, share, and leave us a review.
Browning Nagle: RIP to the former Jets QB, who passed away from cancer at 57. He was the Jets’ top draft choice in 1991 and started 13 of 16 games in the 1992 season. His first pro win as a starting QB was against the Patriots.
Nagle was a two-sport star and was drafted by the Red Sox out of high school, but he wanted to pursue a life in football.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position.
We will continue to display this in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
The Patriots have several holes to fill and many needs across the board to continue the success they enjoyed a year ago. The Patriots have 11 total picks: # 31, 63, 95, 125, 131, 171, 191, 198, 202, 212, 247.
The biggest needs continue to be edge, a right tackle of the future, swing tackle, wide receiver, tight end, linebacker, secondary, and defensive line depth, and a third running back.
How the board plays out will be especially intriguing to watch. Wolf and Vrabel have enough picks to move up and pick someone they truly covet. But the more time that goes on, the more a move down in Round 1, just a few spots, seems more likely.
Watch Where They Draft A WR And A DL:
The discussion about a wide receiver was mentioned above, but something else to keep an eye on. Even if they do trade for A.J. Brown and draft a wide receiver, especially a slot receiver, it could reflect on Pop Douglas or even Kayshon Boutte’s status moving forward.
The team did not attempt to extend Douglas. After the hiring of Josh McDaniels a year ago, who has traditionally used slot receivers heavily in his offense, Douglas was far down in the pecking order during the season. It was surprising. This will be a very big summer for Douglas.
The same holds for Christian Barmore. Barmore was on the Patriots roster at the March deadline, which guaranteed $12 million of his $17 million cap hit for 2026. But his base pay in 2027 and 2028 balloons to $ 18 million each, with cap hits of more than $23 million.
If the Patriots draft an interior defensive lineman in Rounds 2 or 3, or make a trade for an established veteran, then it may signal they are ready to move on from him. An interior lineman in the later rounds would be a depth move, but an early one would suggest something completely else.
At tight end, Hunter Henry is entering the final year of his contract, and at 32, the team will be looking to add a younger, more productive pass catcher. The team signed Julian Hill to a pretty decent contract (3 years, $15 million base value), but he’s more of a blocker and hasn’t been very productive. So, look for them to target a tight end fairly early in the draft. One name that keeps popping up is Oscar Delp from Georgia.
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“Somebody asked me what success looks like, and I said, ‘Yeah, you can judge it by wins and losses during the season, but success for me in the offseason is going to be that the players believe in what we’re doing, and they believe in the message, they believe in the teaching, and they believe in the connections that we’re making.’” — Mike Vrabel
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The Patriots' biggest needs for the 2026 NFL Draft include edge rusher, right tackle, swing tackle, wide receiver, tight end, linebacker, secondary, defensive line depth, and a third running back.
The 2026 Patriots Hall of Fame nominees are Rob Gronkowski, Mosi Tatupu, Wes Welker, Logan Mankins, Julius Adams, Dont'a Hightower, Lawyer Milloy, and Adam Vinatieri.
The Patriots traded linebacker Marte Mapu and their 2027 seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans. In return, New England received Houston's 2027 sixth-round pick.
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Barmore and Big Mike need to have big years to remain Patriots going forward. Drafting those positions would be prudent.